Women's Gymnastics Records Historic Night at the LNC

By Charlie Gaasch

Visitors to the LNC on Friday night were treated not only to the typical outstanding performance of the women’s gymnastics team, but also got to be a part of a historic night for the Sooners. Tonight, the team took on another Big 12 opponent at the Lloyd Noble Center. The West Virginia Mountaineers traveled from Morgantown to Norman to be handed their 9th loss of the season. The victory marked OU’s 19th win on the so far perfect season as the Sooners look to defend their back-to-back national titles. As the season rolls on, it becomes harder and harder to imagine a world in which they don’t do just that.

Beginning on vault, Sooner standouts included junior Faith Torrez who received numerous “Ten, ten, ten” chants throughout the crowd the instant her feet hit the mat to stick the landing. Torrez wound up being awarded a 9.925 for her performance. Fan favorite Jordan Bowers and Katherine LeVasseur in the fourth and fifth spots respectively both earned a 9.900 for their vaults. The Sooners finished the vault rotation with an overall score of 49.475 out of 50 as they headed over to their second event on the bars.

The bars brought a stunning performance by the OU gym team. Out of the six competing for the cumulative five-point spots, every single one of them scored a 9.900 or higher. The Sooners had three 9.925 scores from Katherine LeVasseur, Faith Torrez, and Ragan Smith. Audrey Davis took a step up with a 9.950 and Jordan Bowers finished just under perfect at 9.975. The team event score after bars was a 49.700 and overall, a 99.150.

The Sooners then headed to the beam and that is where history was made Friday night. Torrez notably put up a 9.975 on her beam performance followed by LeVasseur who scored a 9.950. LeVasseur then turned the wheel over to star senior Ragan Smith who took it and never looked back. Smith took great risks in her routine yet never faltered, staying right on cue to her chosen song “Anti-Hero” by her favorite Taylor Swift. Smith dismounted the beam after a minute and a half and stuck a perfect landing as the LNC erupted. Not a soul in the crowd had a doubt as to what was coming next and sure enough, the score card came in giving Ragan Smith a program record tying seventh perfect ten on the beam. Smith greeted cheering coaches and teammates that were drowned out by the noise of the crowd. Her score helped give the Sooners a program record tying 49.800 overall on the event and 148.950 heading into the final performance. 

The energy was unmatched in the arena as the lights went dark and the Sooners marched on to the floor, eyes set on one more record. Audrey Davis set the tone for the event with a 9.925 that was followed by a series of 9.900 scores or higher. Faith Torrez finished her night with a 9.950 on the floor and Bowers anchored the team with a 9.975. 

The final collective breath of the team could finally be exhaled as the score board showed that they had earned a 198.675. This was the highest score posted in the decorated program’s history. Cheers deafened the ears of everyone in the arena as the record was announced and the Sooners topped off a dominant win over the Mountaineers who quickly became an afterthought through the night. Not a single time was Oklahoma required to come from behind in points and their 195.550 reminded them who they were competing against. There is no room for error in a meet against the Sooners and even the best of nights is no match for the record setting Sooners.